A Field Guide to Homicide

by Lynn Cahoon

  Cat frowned. “Maybe they think Chance told you something the night you met for drinks. Did he tell you anything that might be important?”

  “No, we talked about the old days. About before he left for Germany. He told me he was sorry, but he’d gotten involved in something and just couldn’t risk me being hurt. Then he and Prince left to go back up the mountain.” She gasped. “Wait, what happened to Prince? I’ve been so lost in the past, I didn’t even think about his dog. Is he okay?”

  “The dog went to the shelter to be adopted.”

  Sherry sighed. “I need to go get the dog. I promised Chance if anything happened to him, I’d take care of Prince. I hope I’m not too late.”

  “Be careful. If you think you’re being followed, you should tell someone.”

  “I did. I told you.” Sherry hung up the phone.

  Cat gathered up the sodas and headed back to Seth’s room. Shauna would be wondering what happened to her. At least one good thing came out of the discussion. Chance’s dog may have a place to live out his senior years. Cat didn’t think that Sherry would let him go. Not now. She just hoped Sherry’s husband was as understanding.

  Seth was sitting up on the side of the bed. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “I got delayed.” She glanced around. “Where’s Uncle Pete?”

  “He left to go track down Joey. Man, I think I’ll pass if I get an invitation to a reunion in another ten years. This one’s been nothing but trouble.” He slipped on his jacket. “Let’s go home. I’m going to lie on the bed and watch movies. Maybe I won’t feel like I was hit by a car tomorrow.”

  “We can cancel the trip to Outlaw tomorrow.” Cat handed Shauna her soda and gave one to Seth.

  “Let me take the guests up. I haven’t been up there for a while. You can stay home and play nursemaid.” Shauna glanced at her watch. “I’m ordering pizza for a late lunch/early dinner. I’ll pull out a batch of soup for later tonight. But I’m starving now.”

  “Me too.” Seth rubbed his stomach. “I didn’t have breakfast, if you remember.”

  Cat sat next to Seth on the bed. “Sounds good to me. Shauna, I can ride along if you want tomorrow morning.”

  “No, it will be good for me to spend some time with the guests. I haven’t talked to most of them, just Brodie. And I’d like to get some pictures for cover ideas for the cookbook.” She stepped aside and a nurse pushed a wheelchair through the room. “Here’s your ride. I’ll go move the car to the loading zone in front.”

  The nurse gave her directions on where to meet them. Then she handed a clipboard to Seth. “I’ve got some paperwork for you to sign before you can leave.”

  “I’ll be out in the hallway. I need to call Uncle Pete.” Cat kissed his cheek and left the room, dialing her uncle’s number as she walked. When he answered, she quickly filled him in on what Sherry had said.

  “So where is she now?” Uncle Pete asked.

  Cat saw the nurse getting Seth into the wheelchair and figured she had only a few more seconds. “At the animal shelter. She’s going to adopt Prince if they’ll let her.”

  “Who is Prince?”

  “Chance’s dog. Sherry told him that if anything happened, she’d take care of the dog.”

  “Interesting. Maybe Chance was worried that something was happening. Maybe that’s why he had the wall of pictures in his house.”

  Cat smiled as Seth and the nurse passed her in the hallway. She started following, still with her uncle on the phone. “Maybe. I think he must have told her more than just where he’d been all these years.”

  “I’ll send an officer to watch her and make plans to talk to her again this afternoon. Look, tell Shirley that I’ll call when I have a minute.”

  Cat paused at the exit door to the parking area. “Call me if you find out something.”

  “Sure, why not. You can come over and read my case notes when you have time too.”

  Her eyes widened. Her uncle never let her so far into an investigation. Maybe he was warming up to the idea. “Really?”

  His laugh told her all she needed to know. “In your dreams. See you soon, and stay out of this investigation. I’m getting worried about what’s going on with Chance’s death. And you’re not as quick to get out of the way as Seth is.”

  “Ha-ha.” Cat opened the side door and climbed into the backseat. Seth was sitting in the front “shotgun” seat and grinning at her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  She climbed in and closed the door. “Do you need me to call in an order for lunch?”

  “Already done. I had some time waiting for you. I take it you called Pete?”

  Cat caught Shauna’s gaze in the rearview. “Yep, he’s more worried about us getting in the way than any news I could tell him.”

  “Which isn’t a bad thing,” Seth added. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I think the only reason I’m awake is I’m starving.”

  Cat leaned back in her seat and made sure the seat belt was on. She watched the passing houses as they made their way home. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, a pizza truck parked in front of the house.

  “You get Seth, I’ll get the pizza.” Shauna smiled as she headed toward the vehicle.

  Cat went around the car, but he’d already opened the door and had started to the house. “You’re making my nursing duties really easy.”

  “If I fall over, you’ll be found negligent in the trial.” He held the door open for her, then moved to the table, where he sat. “I can’t believe I’m hurting this bad, yet nothing’s broke.”

  “You’re lucky it’s just bruised.” Cat grabbed a sealed bag filled with cookies and put them on a plate to sit in front of him. “Eat one of those until Shauna gets in with the pizza. I’m going to grab plates, then run out to the lobby and see if the guests are here or in town eating lunch.”

  “I’m betting in town.” Seth glanced at the clock. “It’s already one.”

  When Cat went into the hallway, she saw that Seth was correct. Everyone had gone to lunch. A piece of paper sat folded into a tent on the lobby desk. She opened it and read a note from Jocelyn. She’d taken her appointment of being in charge seriously. The note explained that after Tammy left, they’d locked up the doors and headed into town for lunch at Reno’s and then a work session at the library.

  She went back into the kitchen.

  “Was I right?” Seth sat eating a slice of pepperoni deep dish.

  “Spot on the money.” Cat grabbed a slice of the combination she loved and set it on her plate. She took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with chilled water from the fridge pitcher. Shauna was trying to cut down on the number of disposable water bottles they used monthly. “They said they’d be back after dinner to do some word sprints if I was interested in joining them.”

  “They’ve become their own self-directed retreat.” Shauna smiled as she grabbed a second slice of pizza. “Maybe we should have one of those a year and charge less. They can just come and eat breakfast and do whatever they want.”

  The more she thought about it, she wondered if it might work, especially on weeks where she was going to be on deadline. Shirley bounded through the back door.

  “Oh, good, you’re here.” Her words came out in a rush. “Your uncle couldn’t reach you by phone.”

  Cat looked down and saw that her ringer was still off from being in the hospital. She turned the volume back up. “What’s going on?”

  “He wanted to ask Seth if he knew where Joey was staying? The hotel doesn’t have anyone under that name.”

  Chapter 20

  “That’s impossible. I met him in the lobby of the hotel just this morning to run.” Seth set the slice of pizza he’d been working on down on the plate.

  Shirley nodded. “What time? Maybe we can use their security system to grab a photo of him.”

  “Seven. I was a little early, so I sat and read the paper for a few minutes in the lobby.” Seth rubbed his face. “Don’t tell me all
my old friends have been living under aliases. What happened in Germany?”

  “That’s the hundred-dollar question, now isn’t it?” Shirley dialed a number on the phone and relayed the information to what must have been Uncle Pete. After she hung up, she glanced around. “Did the guests leave for lunch already?”

  “Lunch, work at the library, then dinner. They said they’ll be back this evening for word sprints if you want to join in.” Cat pointed to the pizza. “Have you eaten?”

  “Not yet. And it looks like Pete’s going to be busy today.” She sank into a chair as Shauna handed her a plate. “I knew dating a cop was going to be a time issue, but we’ve been lucky up until this week. Oh, well, it gives me time to write.”

  “Writers, you always look at alone time as a good thing.” Seth ate the rest of his pizza in two bites. “I’m heading upstairs with a bottle of pain relievers. What time’s dinner?”

  “I’ll bring you up some chili and cornbread about seven. Will that work?” Shauna glanced at the clock.

  “Perfect.” He kissed Cat on the head as he passed by her on the way to the door leading out to the hallway. “Sorry I’m bailing on you this week.”

  “The week’s not over yet.” Cat smiled. “I’m still counting on you to do the designated driver thing tomorrow night.”

  “I’ll be there. Maybe not with bells on, but I’m not missing my free dinner out for anything.” He nodded to the other two. “Ladies . . .”

  And then he was gone. Shirley focused on her pizza. “Cat, if I wasn’t way too old for him, you would be in big trouble keeping your boyfriend.”

  “That’s what all the guests say.” Cat smiled as she considered a mushroom that had fallen off the pizza. “It’s a good thing you all go away after a week.”

  Shauna pulled out her planner. “Since I’m taking the group to Outlaw tomorrow, what time were they going to leave, do you know?”

  “Tristin said something about nine. Sydney wants to be back to the house in order to get some work done before we go to dinner. She’s working on a new blog series that she’s releasing next month on ten places you have to visit before you have kids.” Shirley folded her pizza slice and took a big bite.

  “That’s pretty specific. Is there something Tristin and Sydney aren’t telling us?” Shauna lifted her head from making notes about the Outlaw trip in her planner.

  Shirley shook her head. “I’ve tried to get it out of them, but they both just keep saying they aren’t looking at having kids for a few years. Maybe Sydney has other plans.”

  “Well, since we’re free and clear for a while, I’m heading upstairs to write.” Cat glanced at Shauna. “Unless you needed my help with something.”

  “Nope, go ahead. Of course, you’re going to have to watch Seth tomorrow while I’m hiking around Outlaw.”

  “Sure, ruin my Saturday.” Cat set her plate in the sink and waved to the women as she went through the doorway to the foyer. If she planned it right, Seth might just be too busy watching college football to worry about where she was. Which would give her time to go talk to Sherry again. It was a long shot, but maybe she might have remembered something from her conversations with Chance. And she could use the excuse of going to check on Prince.

  Instead of opening her Word document, she opened her digital picture storage program. She went back and opened the first picture of Chance’s cabin. She went through the series once, then again. Nothing was jumping out at her. Maybe it was because she wasn’t focusing on what Chance had been. She paused at the list of Covington professors on the wall. Three were circled. What was it about those three people, including Michael and the woman who used to be her best friend before the divorce?

  She glanced at the third name, then opened her Web browser to Google the woman. Addie Callen was a professor in the history department. It looked like she’d been there for years. Her undergrad degree was from a small school in Oregon and her master’s from Oregon State. Nothing that screamed she was related to any of the mob families that supported Covington as a safe place for their offspring to get a degree. Of course, Michael hadn’t had connections either.

  Cat frowned and studied the picture of Chance’s wall again. Jessica didn’t have connections either. Was that the entire reason their names were circled? Had Chance thought someone from the families had been after him? Was their lack of connection the reason why he circled the names?

  She knew one person who might know. She looked at the Covington website and found that the other woman on the list, Addie Callen, had open office hours until three. If she didn’t know Chance, that mystery may have just been solved. She tucked her notebook into her tote and headed downstairs to tell Shauna she was going to run to Covington to talk to a professor. Luckily, she wasn’t in the kitchen. Cat signed out on the white board with a return ETA and grabbed her coat. Since Shauna hadn’t signed out, Cat knew she was in the house or in the barn. Close enough in case Seth needed her.

  She was two blocks away when she realized she hadn’t brought cookies. Cookies were a great way to get into someone’s office. It opened the door to so many conversations. She’d just have to be charming and outgoing today. Two words that rarely anyone used to describe Cat.

  The professor’s office door was open when Cat arrived. She knocked, and an attractive blonde in jeans and a blazer looked up from her computer. “Come on in. Are you one of my students?”

  “You’re Professor Callen?”

  The woman nodded and Cat entered the office, shutting the door after her. She moved some papers from one chair to another, then sat. “I’m Cat Latimer. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.”

  Professor Callen stood and held out her hand. “Why, of course. I should have recognized you. I suppose you’re researching a new book series? Pete didn’t mention you were writing historical.”

  “Pete?” Now Cat was completely confused. This woman knew her uncle?

  “Oh, dear. Maybe he hasn’t mentioned me. We’ve only been on a few dates. He’s very charming, your uncle. And busy, of course.” She pulled a pen out of her hair and put it on the table. “Sorry, I’m chattering away. Please call me Addie. What can I help you with, Cat?”

  Cat decided to put away the issue of Uncle Pete until she could talk to him. She’d come for another reason. “Thanks for seeing me. Did you know Chance McAllister?”

  The look on her face when Cat mentioned the name told the story. She had indeed known Chance.

  “What a horrible thing to happen. Chance was the most interesting man I’d met in a long time. His knowledge of Colorado history was unsurpassed, even by the professors on campus who focus on the local lore.” She took a tissue out of her desk and dabbed at her eyes. “I focus mostly on western expansion, so our expertise crossed at times. He was always researching mining claims. Like he was going to make it rich with that plot of ground he had in the hills. Pipe dreams.”

  “This is going to sound weird, but did you ever visit his cabin?”

  Addie shook her head. “He’d invited me up several times, but I’d felt uncomfortable with the invitation. You know how it is with single women. If we get a reputation, true or not, it can stay with you.”

  There went her theory. “Okay, well, I was just checking on something. Thanks for your time.”

  Addie stood and walked the couple of steps to the door and held it open for Cat. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry for your late husband’s death. It’s so hard to take, losing someone that young.”

  “Thanks.” Cat wanted to add “but we were divorced,” but sometimes it didn’t help the conversation. Besides, let the woman think what she wanted about Cat’s emotional state.

  “Yeah, Jessica and I were just talking about how lovely a man he was.” She reached out and patted Cat’s shoulder. “Jessica explained how upset you were over the whole divorce thing. I’m so glad you were trying to patch things up.”

  Thanks, Jessica, for the lie. Cat shook her head, deciding not to clarify the s
ituation. Then she realized what Addie had said. “How do you know Jessica?”

  “We were on a professorial standard board a few years ago. Of course, Jessica wasn’t really high enough in the pecking order to be part of the panel, but no one really cared. And she had connections, you know.” She smiled. “Your husband was our chair. He was such a lovely man. Talked about you all the time. He loved telling stories about you fixing up the house. Then when you left, it was like the light dropped from his eyes.”

  Okay, so there was the connection. They’d all been on a board together a few years ago. And it had been right about the time of the divorce.

  She needed to talk to her uncle and see if this woman was crazy or if she could actually have some useful knowledge to help find Chance’s killer. And she needed to talk to him alone, without Shirley. “Thanks for seeing me. I’ve just been wondering about what Chance was working on. You know a writer’s mind. We go all over the place.”

  “It was lovely to meet you. Please give my best to your uncle. I’m starting to think he’s forgotten my phone number.” She waved as Cat made her way down the hallway.

  Cat figured she had two opportunities to find her uncle alone. Go down to the station now. According to Shauna, Shirley went with the group to the library to work. Or wait until tomorrow and make sure Shirley went on the Outlaw expedition. She decided she’d try today. That way, she might have it over and done with sooner than later. And it was a part of the investigation.

  She left the campus and headed the two blocks to the station. She hadn’t popped in to see her uncle for a while. And again, she wished she’d thought ahead and brought cookies. Entering the lobby of the station, she stopped at the reception desk and waited for the officer to get off the phone. Picking up a neighborhood watch pamphlet, she wondered if they should join the local group. Of course, Shauna might have already joined and the way she was, she was probably president of the organization now. Cat put the brochure in her pocket.

  Before the phone call was over, her uncle’s door opened and out walked Shirley and Uncle Pete. Cat’s heart stopped. How could she bring up what she’d found out without him knowing that she now knew about his other girlfriend?